MODULE II

DEEP FOUNDATION

Caissons: Box caissons, Open caissons & pneumatic caissons

Timbering and trenching of foundations

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
CAISSONS

• The term caisson is derived from Latin, which means box or case.

• Caissons are hollow inside and usually constructed at site and sunk in place into
a hard bearing stratum.

• Often the caissons have high construction cost and their construction is
restricted to major foundation works.

• Caissons are used for bridge piers, abutments in rivers and lakes, docks and
wharves, break water and other shore protections works, and large water front
structures such as pump houses subjected to very heavy vertical and horizontal
loads.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
• Caissons denote watertight structures which are constructed in connection with
the excavation for foundations of bridges, piers, abutments in river and lake dock
structure, foreshore protection, etc.

• The caisson remains in its position and thus ultimately becomes as integral parts of
the permanent structure. It can be made up of wood, steel or reinforced concrete,
etc.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
MATERIALS USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CAISSONS

1) Cast iron

2) Reinforced cement concrete

3) Steel

4) Timber

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
 CAISSONS

BOX OPEN PNEUMATIC

CAISSONS CAISSONS CAISSONS

Single Multiple Cylinders

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
 BOX CAISSON

It is strong water tight vessel open at top

and closed at bottom and made of
timber, steel or RCC.

It is build on land , cured and then float

or launched to pier site where it is placed
in position.

Mainly it is used for shallow depth and

for light weight.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
 BOX CAISSON

• The caisson is sunk by filling sand, gravel, or concrete in the empty space inside.

• The place where the caisson base is to rest must be levelled and as such box
caissons are used in places where the strata of sufficient bearing capacity is
available near the ground.

• In normal practice, the soft natural bottom soil of the river bed is dredged out to
some depth and the trench thus formed is filled with sand to have a levelled base.

• The function of the sand layer is to uniformly distribute the superimposed loads
over the soil below and thus avoid tilting of the caisson.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
OPEN OR WELL CAISSON

A well is a caisson which is open at the top as well as at the bottom.

Provided with a cutting edge at the bottom to facilitate sinking.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
a) Single Wells

This is a box type structure having no top or bottom(during construction) and mainly
consists of vertical walls.

Well Components:

Cutting edge : provides sharp edge to cut the soil

below during sinking operation.

Steining : it is main body of the well. Made of RCC

or masonry with minimum thickness of 45 cm.

Bottom plug : made of concrete and designed for

an upward load equal to the soil pressure minus
self weight of the bottom plug and sand filling.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
a) Single Wells

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
b) Multiple Wells or Monoliths

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
b) Multiple Wells or Monoliths

Monoliths are multiple wells which are sunk together.

Each individual well has a separate cutting edge and dredging in each of the
well can be done separately.

The monoliths are bigger in dimension, so they cannot be built on site in water.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
b) Multiple Wells or Monoliths
Construction Of Monoliths

• A suitable site is selected on the upstream

side of the river and dry dock is
constructed.

• The dimensions of dry dock should be kept

bigger than those of the monoliths and it
should be provided with a door of sufficient
width to take it out.

• The monolith is constructed up to such

height that some portion of it will remain
above water level when it is sunk.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
b) Multiple Wells or Monoliths

• The gate of dry dock is opened. The monolith is then floated and located in its
correct position.

• The dredging operation is done.

• After dredging to the required depth, the whole monolith is gradually sunk
uniformly up to the required level.

• The bottom is provided with a concrete seal, the wells are filled-with the
concrete and cap is provided at the top to finish up the construction of monolith.

• USE:
-Used for the foundation work of bridge piers,quay walls etc.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
c) Cylinders:

An open cylinder can be conveniently used for the foundation of bridge piers.

• The cylinder is a light shell which invariably becomes the part of the permanent
structure.

• Cylinders are used as a foundation when depth of water is more than 12 m or when
it becomes essential to go deep to avoid exposure of foundations due to scouring
action of flowing water

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
 c) Cylinders:

• The method of construction of well caisson

is exactly similar to that of a single
wall open caisson described earlier. After the
well is sunk to the desired depth its
bottom is sealed with concrete.

• This type of caisson is commonly adopted

for providing foundation for bridges
and other structures to be built in rivers
and waterways.
BMC II MODULE 2 S3
c) Cylinders:

Disadvantages :-

(1)As the diameter of cylinder is small, it’s load carrying capacity is less.
(2)There are more chances of lifting of the cylinders.
(3)They require additional weight for sinking as their self weight is less.
(4)The thickness is less and hence, they are not suitable for the high bridges.
(5)When water is flowing with high velocity of flow, it is difficult to sink the
cylinders.

Advantages :-
(1)The construction is simple.
(2) The cost is low.
(3)As the diameter of cylinder is small, the obstruction the water flow is less.
(4)The quantity of excavation is less.
(5)They do not require expensive and complicated lifting devices.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
 PNEUMATIC CAISSON

• The construction of the

pneumatic caisson is similar
to the types described
above, except that, the
working chamber and shaft
are made air-tight.

• In order that the workmen

may carry out excavation
work underneath the
caisson and the water may
not find its way inside from
below, the pressure of the
compressed air in the shaft is
kept just higher than that of
the water at that depth.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
BMC II MODULE 2 S3
PNEUMATIC CAISSON

• Each caisson has two air locks. Through one air lock workmen go down for
working while through the other excavated material is taken out.

• An air lock essentially consists of a steel chamber having two air- tight doors.

• One door of this chamber serves as an entry for men and material from outside into
the steel chamber and the other door leads to the air shaft.

• When a workman enters the airlock from outside, the pressure inside the airlock is the
same as that of outside atmosphere.

• Thereafter the outside door is closed and the pressure inside the airlock is raised slowly.
When the pressure inside the airlock becomes equal to the pressure in the caisson, the
door of the airlock which leads to the air shaft is opened and the workman goes down
the air-shaft with the help of a ladder installed therein.

• Exactly reverse procedure is followed when the workman comes out of the caisson. Air-
shaft provides means of access for the worker from airlock down to the working
chambers

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
PNEUMATIC CAISSON

Disadvantages:
• This method of providing foundation is complicated, expensive and very slow.

Advantages:

• In places where it is rather difficult to use bulky equipment required for alternative
method, pneumatic caissons appear to be the only choice.

• The chief advantage of this method is that entire operation of sinking the caisson
can be carried out under controlled conditions.

• This method provides better facilities for removing obstructions, inspection of work
and concreting of foundations bed

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
TIMBERING AND TRENCHING OF FOUNDATIONS

A trench is defined as a narrow excavation

(in relation to its length) made below the
surface of the ground. In general, the
depth of a trench is greater than its width,
but the width of a trench (measured at the
bottom) is not greater than 15 feet (4.6 m).

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
TIMBERING PROCESS

Timbering process consist of arrangement of timber planks and bullies erected

in trench to give temporary support to the collapsible sides of the trench,
Following are the timber members used:

1.Sheething:
2.Waling or wale:
3.Strut:
4.Bracing:

METHODS OF TIMBERING

1.Stay bracing
2.Box sheeting
3.Vertical sheeting
4.Runners
5.Sheet piling

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
TIMBERING PROCESS

1.Stay bracing

• This method is used for supporting the

sides or a bench excavated in fairly firm soil,
when the depth of excavation does not
exceed about 2 metres.

• The method consists of placing vertical

sheets (called sheathing) or polling boards
opposite each other against the two walls
of the trench and holding them in position
by one or two rows of struts.

• The sheets are placed at an interval of 2 to

4 metres and generally, they extend to the
full height of the trench.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
TIMBERING PROCESS

2.Box sheeting

• This method is adopted in loose soils, when

the depth of excavation does not exceed 4
metres.

• Box like structure, consisting of vertical

sheets placed very near to each other
(sorne times touching each other) and
keeping them in position by longitudinal
rows (usually two) of wales. Struts are then
provided across the wales.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
3.Vertical sheeting

• This system is adopted for deep trenches

(upto 10 m depth) in soft ground.

• The method is similar to the box sheeting

except that the excavation is carried out in
stages and at the end of each stage, an
offset is provided, so that the width of the
trench goes on decreasing as the depth
increases.

• Each stage is limited to about 3 m in height

and the offset may vary from 25 to 50 cm
per stage.

• For each stage, separate vertical sheeting,

supported by horizontal wailings and struts
are provided

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
4.Runners

• This system is used in extremely loose and

soft ground, which needs immediate
support as excavation progresses.

• The system is similar to vertical sheeting of

box system, except that in the place of
vertical sheeting, runners, made of long
thick wooden sheets or planks with iron
shoe at the ends, are provided.

• Wales and struts are provided as usual

• These runners are driven about 30 cm in
advance of the progress of the work, by
hammering

BMC II MODULE 2 S3
5.Sheet piling

• This method is adopted when

• (i) soil to be excavated is soft or
loose (ii) depth of excavation is large
(iii) width of trench is also large and
(iv) there is sub-soil water.

• Sheet piles are designed to resist

lateral earth pressure.

• These are driven in the ground by

mechanical means (pile driving
equipment).

• They can be used for excavating to a

very large depth.

BMC II MODULE 2 S3